Mail-box.



J. F. WILGO-X.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1912.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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7H! NORRIS PETERS L0,. PHOTO-LITHO, WASHINGTON. D, C

J. F. WILGOX.

MAIL BOX. APPLICATION FILED APR. 13 1912.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

3' SHEETS-SHEET 3.

vi/meomm THE NORRIS PETERS (:04. PH Jm-IHHQ. WASIII/vcimm n I.v

onrrnn s rn'rns PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. WILCOX, 0F EARLSBORO, OKLAHOMA.

MAIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters I-Patent. Patefited Sept.29, 1914- Application filed April 13, 1.912. Serial no. 690,528.

To all whom itmag concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. VVrLoox,

a citizen of the United States, residing at communication with the mail box, whereby the occupant of the resldence may (upon consulting the indicator) be acquainted with the fact that the mail has or has not been delivered to the box.

I also aim to provide a device of this character (including a receiving box and .anindicator) with an electric wiring communicating between the said box and the indicator, whereby an audible alarm is sounded upon the indicator, when the door of the mail box is opened for the reception of mail matter.

I further propose to provide a device which includes a box having compartments for different classes of mail, for instance, packages and ordinary letters, and an indicator arranged at a remote point from the box, the said indicator being provided with flags of different characters, an electric communication being arranged between the box and the indicator to operate the flags to indicate the particular class of mail which has been delivered to the box.

A further object of the invention is to provide an indicator of the class set forth which is operated by a source of electricity that is actuated by the opening or closing of the door or doors of the mail box, the said indicator embodying slidable elements which,

after operation, will remain in a certain position, so that the fact that mail has been deposited within the box will be apparent to the occupants of the residence, means being provided whereby the said sliding elements may be manually returned to their initial position.

With the above recited objects in view, and others of a similar nature, the invention invented new resides in the novel construction, .combination and arrangement of parts, set forth in and falling within the scope OI the appended claim.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a box, the main door being opened. 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional viewtaken through the box, the main door being closed; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the indicator. Fig. 4: is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same. v

Fig. ,5 is a transverse sectional view upon the line ,5-5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectionalview upon the line 6-6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating the wire connections between the box and the indicator.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral 1 indicates the mail box which,

when the device is arranged upon a rural district, is positioned at a convenient point to be readily accessible to the mail carrier.

The device 1, it may here be stated, is not to be restricted in its useful. application to rural stations and residences adjacent the said stations, as the devicemay be employed I with equal efiiciency in oflices locatedupon different floors of a building, apartment houses, flats, etc., wherein occupants of different floors may be acquainted with the fact that mail matter has been inserted in the respective compartments. ,Theboxl,

as illustrated in the drawings, comprlses a rectangular member, preferably formed of metal and 1S provided, ad acent one of its ends, with a wall or partition 2, the same,

forming the front of the box. The wall 2 is formed with a plurality of openings, ,three of the said openings being illustrated in the drawings, and the same are. designated, respectively, openings are formation, and each of the same isnormally closed by doors 6, 7 and 8. The box is provided with a longitudinally extending horizontally arranged floor 9 which is positioned below'the central opening 4:, and above the lower opening 4. with an upper and a .lower compartment, designated, respectively,

between the sides, front and open rear of the box, the said open rear,

The door .12 is adaptedto serve as means by 3, r and 5. Theseof substantially rectangular Thebox is thus provided by the numerals 10 and 11. 3 The floor 9 covers the entire space being normally closed through the medium'of a (100x212.-

whereby mail may be extracted from the ter, the purpose box by the owner from the upper compartment 10, and whereby mail may be inserted within the lower compartment 11, this mail to be taken up by the carrier.

The door 6 has its upper edges provided withtrunnions 13, the same being received within suitable bearings 14 formed upon the inner face of the wall or partition 2. B this arrangement it will be noted that the door will normally close by gravity, but upon the inward swinging of the door for the insertion of mail, the said. door is adapted to engage with the electric contact 15 which is arranged within the box, for a purpose which will hereinafter be set forth. The

door 7 is also provided with. trunnions 16 upon its lower edges, the said trunnions beng mounted in bearings 17, and contacting with the door and secured to the inner face of the partition 2 is a helical curved spring '18, the latter adapted to normally close the saiddoor 7. 'The numeral 19 designates an "electric contact which is positioned so as to be engaged by the door 7, when the latter is swung open for the insertion of mail matof this contact being hereinafter set forth.

f The door 8"is trunnioned in bearings 20,

arranged below a contact the" same being arranged adjacent the lower face of the door, so that the said door will normally swing to an open position. In

order to limit the swinging movement of this door, I have provided the partition with suitable stops 21, the same being so arranged as to'sustain the door at an angle to permit the insertion of the hand of the carrier forthewithdrawal of the mail from the compartment 11. The contact points 15 and 17, are sustained away from the mail box through the medium of an insulated bracket 23, and'the front of the box is normally close'd through the medium of a hinged door '24.

This-door is provided with a suitable lock the key of. which is normally retained in the possession of the carrier, and the said door, when in its closed position, is adapted to abut with insulated strips 25 which are member 26 which its outer extremity bowed or curved, 501

as at 27. The'bowed portion 27 of the contact member 26 is arranged within the path of the door is swung to an open position, the same will engage with the bowed portion 27, as will be readily understood. The contact member 26 is constructed of some spring material, so that the contacting thereof by the "door 24 will not injure or destroy the same.

The numeral 28 designates the indicator casing which is arranged at aremote point fro'rn'tlre box. This indicator comprises a substantially rectangular or box-shaped member which is preferably provided with removable faceplate 9. This face plate is provided with a pair of openings 30 and 31,

24, so that when the said door,

the same being arranged approximately centrally of the said plate, and one directly above the other. The openings 30 and 31 are provided with a closure of some transparent material, and the said openings are a ranged approximately centrally of a pair of solenoids and 33, the same being provided with extending cores 34 and 3.3, and connected with the extremities of these cores are the indicator shutters 36 and 37- These shutters may, if desired, be provided with facings of different colors of material, and when either of the solenoids 32 and 33 energized, one of the shutters will be drawn toward the solenoid through the me dinm of the core of the solenoid, and the shutter will cover one of the openings 30 or 31, of the fa e plate. By this arrangement it will be apparent to the residents that mail has been delivered in the box and when the shutter 36 is actuated to close the opening it will be apparent that mail has been deposited in the opening 3, whereas when ti o shutter 31 is actuated to close the opening 31 it will indicate that mail matter has been deposited in the opening 4.

The indicator casing is further provided with an alarm bell 38, the same having a striker arm 39 which is actuated by the ordinary magnets contained within a suitable casing 40. The casing 29 is provided upon one of its ends with a pair of spaced openings 41 and 42, the same adapted to serve as passages for flexible elements, such as cords 43 and 44, the cord 4-3 being attached to the shutter 36, while the cord 44 is secured to the shutter 37. These cords are adapted to serve as means whereby the shutters may be drawn away from the sight openings, and the cores 34 and 35 retracted from their respective solenoids 32 and 33, after the owner is acquainted with the fact that the mail has been delivered in the box, or after the mail has been withdrawn from the said box by the owner.

The contact member 26 is provided with a conducting wire 45, the same being connected with the solenoids or magnets provided in the box 40 for the bell 38. The wire, after passing through a battery 46, is grounded, as at 47. By this arrangement, it will be noted that when the door 24 is opened and the same is brought into engagement with the bowed portion 27 of the contact member 26, a circuit will be completedthrongh the medium of a ground wire 4Swh1ch is connected with the metallic box 1, it being understood that the door 24 is only insulated from the metallic box 1, when the said door is in its closed position. The contact members 15 and 19 are also provided with suitable conducting wires 49 and 50, the wire 49 being connected with the sole- .noid 32, and communicating with the battery 46 and the ground wire 48 through the branch or return wire 51, while the wire 50 communicates with the solenoid 33 and is provided with a return wire 52 which also communicates with the battery 46 and the ground wire 48, the circuit for both of these Wires being completed from the wire 48 of the metallic box 1.

When the device is used in rural districts, the ordinary fence wires may be employed as the electric conductors, if desired, and from the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the simplicity, as well as the advantages of the device will, it is thought, be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, without a more detail description.

WVhat is claimed is:

A mail box having a compartment, a pair of doors closing openings leading to the compartment, a main door operating to overlie and conceal said pair of doors, an

indicator, solenoids within the indicator, shutters connected with the cores of the solenoids, means connected to the shutters for operating the same in opposition to the pull of the solenoids, an audible alarm for the indicator, a circuit including the alarm and v the main door,a circuit including one of the solenoids and one of the pair of doors, a circuit including the remaining solenoid and the remaining door of the pair of doors, each of said circuits being broken when the particular circuit included door is closed, the opening of said door closing the circuit, each i of said solenoids including circuits also ncluding the alarm.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. WILCOX.

Witnesses:

. M. H. DILLON,

J nssn L. WILSON.

copies or this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

